Contribute to IDIOM

How do I contribute to Idiom?

We welcome contributions from our members, including: articles (up to 2000 words), learning sequences connected to the Australian Curriculum: English, book reviews, interesting resources and news, podcasts, vodcasts, PPT, Prezi, and other online applications which relate to the theme of the issue. Idiom is produced primarily for the members of the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English. It is hoped that it will also appeal to our colleagues elsewhere and the broader education community. Idiom is not a peer-reviewed journal.

Contributions and editorial correspondence should be sent to the Managing Editor, Josephine Smith This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Members are encouraged to follow the submission guidelines below.

Contributor abstracts (100–150 words)

The abstract should tell readers whether they want to look at your article in more detail when reading it in the journal.

Set the context—provide general information about the main idea, explaining the situation so the reader can make sense of the topic and the questions you will ask.

State why the main idea is important—tell the reader why s/he should care and keep reading. Your goal is to create a compelling, clear, and educational essay people will want to read and act upon.

Include your name and a short description of your role (including school name or organisation).

Copyright information

It is your responsibility to seek copyright clearance for any materials quoted.

VATE retains copyright unless otherwise negotiated (the Publications and Communications Officer will email you to ask you whether or not you would like to retain copyright). If the author wishes to retain copyright then the onus is on her/him to register with CAL for any royalties; VATE takes no responsibility for ensuring that royalties it receives for Idiom articles are passed on to the author. Idiom is supplied to RMIT's Informit e-Library which can be accessed online by arrangement with RMIT.

Author(s) who give permission for their works to be reproduced elsewhere should inform the Editor of Idiom and should ensure that the following statement appears with the article:

Reproduced with permission, from Idiom the journal of the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English (VATE) [issue volume, number, date].

Writing specifications for Idiom

Article length: 500–2000 words

Visuals: If you wish to include visuals please supply them as separate high res tiff or eps files as well as placed in the word document. Due to copyright restrictions visuals may not appear in the final article.

Please ensure that you have carefully edited and proofread your contribution.

Please title your contribution.

Basic formatting details

Word document

Size 12 Arial font

Single spaced lines, 1.5 spacing between paragraphs

Margins—2.5 all round

Single inverted comma for quotations

Italics for title of books, films, plays, DVDs

Single inverted comma for titles of poems, short stories, articles, chapters

Books for review

VATE receives review textbooks and other resources from publishers. This is a great way to trial resources with your class and gain feedback from your colleagues. You then get to share your review with all VATE members through the Idiom website. All our reviewers are invited to keep books reviewed with our compliments.

If you are interested in reviewing one of the resources listed below, please email Josephine Smith, Publications and Communications Officer, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.

Writing your review

Reviews should be between 400 and 800 words long and be submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in Word format within two months of receiving the resource. We invite reviews of titles in a variety of formats (e.g. textbooks, novels, journals, picture books, audio-visual materials) and on a range of subjects. As Idiom is online, you are not limited to this format, and may want to submit your review as a podcast, Prezi, comicstrip, we're open to suggestions.

Reviewers should identify the book's title, author, publisher, year of publication, no. of pages and retail price. The reviewer should give a brief summary of the overall content and then focus on specific aspects, discussing the quality and usefulness of the content; where applicable, classroom application of the material should be stated. Reviewers are expected to comment on the strengths and limitations of the title while maintaining a respectful tone at all times. They should cite specific examples from the work and comment on the merits of the work as a whole. Contributors with close links to institutions or companies should avoid reviewing titles published by these bodies.